Cidel Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 200,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,119 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $20,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,727,000 after buying an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,451,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,298,000 after buying an additional 188,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $403,372,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $116.84 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.94 and a 52-week high of $118.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.54 and a 200-day moving average of $107.96.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WEC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 over the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.